DESCRIPTION (from the application): Funds are requested to provide partial support for the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) "Biology of Aging: From Genetics to Physiology" to be held at Queens College, Oxford, England from July 22 to July 27, 2001. The conference will be organized by Drs. James Nelson and Phyllis Wise, elected Co-Chairs of the 2001 Conference. The overall aim of this conference is to bring together leading gerontologists in the fields of molecular biology, genetics and physiology together to promote a synergistic discourse and exchange of ideas on recent discoveries in the mechanisms of aging. State-of-the-art sessions are scheduled in many of the critical areas of experimental gerontology. The conference schedule has been designed to begin with sessions on bioinformatics and gene mapping as methods to probe longevity assurance mechanisms, and then lead to sessions on molecular and physiological dissection of cellular and neuroendocrine processes involved in specific age-related dysfunctions and pathologies. The Conference will feature sessions on the following topics: (1) Bioinformatics and Expression Profiling in Aging Research; (2) Identifying Genes that Specify Aging Processes: I. Invertebrates; (3) Identifying Genes that Specify Aging Processes: II. Mammals; (4) Cell Proliferation and Aging, (5) Cellular and Molecular Basis of Sarcopenia, (6) Aging, Adiposity, and the Neuroendocrine System, (7) Novel Neuroprotective Actions of Estrogen in Aging, (8) Neurodegenerative Diseases of Aging, and (9) a special lecture on "The Genetics and Biology of Aging: An Evolutionary Perspective". Funds are requested to provide reimbursement for the registration costs and travel expenses of 32 speakers, 12 session chairs, and the Conference Co-Chairs, less the amount granted by the GRC for the conference. In addition, funds are requested to support the expenses of 10 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and new, junior faculty who would benefit from and contribute to the conference.